No More Old School

photo: samantha g.

Ted Cruz recently made some comments about the Affordable Care Act requiring employers to cover birth control. Cruz called them "abortifacients". His comments got me thinking about how Latinos feel about contraceptives in general.

Here is a student project from students of the University of Michigan that does a pretty good job of covering the basics of Latinos' beliefs about sex and contraceptives. Although the project focuses on teen pregnancy— a pretty big issue in the Latin community —it touches on what many in the community call an "old school" way of thinking.

"Old school" ways of thinking include beliefs such as: a woman can only leave her family when she gets married, women should wait to have sex until marriage, and so on. I think a lot of these beliefs stem from a mix of religious and social beliefs that have influenced generations of Latinos.

While I may not be an expert of Catholicism, I do know enough to comfortably say that it has definitely had a huge role in the lack of contraceptive use among Latinos.

I think it's bullshit for Latinos to blame Catholicism on unplanned pregnancies. Contraceptives are the only realistic way to avoid getting pregnant, and maybe to avoid abortions all together.  That last part is just a thought, though.

Those old, outdated beliefs have resulted in a lack of communication about sexual and reproductive health between older and younger generations.

This is perhaps why teen pregnancies are so common in the Latino community. Of course, there are always other factors to this, not just one.

It doesn't look that bleak for the future, however. As the student project points out, there is some hope. As younger generations become more assimilated into American culture, their knowledge of sexual and reproductive health improves. The more we are educated, the safer we will be and the stronger our communities will be.

We are living in a time of change. Those outdated beliefs are more sexist than they are helpful, and I hope that all Latinos—women especially—take the time to learn about how to protect themselves, not only from pregnancy but from STDs.

I hope my thoughts aren't too rash, but I honestly think that birth control is important. I'd hate to think that our community and our people are stuck on an old way of thinking that does not help us move forward as a people.

Check out the Latinos for Planned Parenthood Facebook Page for more information!